1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head slider in which recording and/or reproducing magnetic elements are mounted so as to perform a recording and/or reproducing operation on a recording medium, such as a magnetic disk or the like, and a method of manufacturing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a magnetic head slider capable of, when an external force is applied to the magnetic head slider and the magnetic head slider comes in contacts with a recording medium, preventing the recording medium from being damaged, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In JP-A-2001-84543 (Pub. No.: US 2003/0123190 A1), a conventional magnetic head slider is disclosed.
FIG. 26 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a main portion of the conventional magnetic head. FIG. 26 uses the same diagram as FIG. 2 of JP-A-2001-84543.
As shown in FIG. 26, a slider 200 includes a head element 202 that is provided on one end face 201a of a slider substrate 201, four bumps 203 (including two recording bumps and two reproducing bumps) each of which is electrically connected to the head element 202 and made of a superior conductive material, such as Ni or the like, and a protective film 204 that covers the head element 202 and is made of an insulating material, such as alumina or the like. An exposed portion 203a of each of the bumps 203, which are exposed to the protective film 204, is flush with or exposed to the surface of the protective film 204. An insulating film 205 is formed on an entire surface of the other end face 201b which is opposite to one end face 201a of the slider substrate 201. The insulating film 205 is composed of a film, such as an alumina film, a SiO2 film, or the like, and has a thickness of 0.3 to 1 μm.
In JP-A-11-339416, a conventional magnetic head slider is disclosed.
A tapered portion and a convex portion are formed at the air inflow side of the magnetic head slider, and the surface of the convex portion is on the same plane as the surface of the tapered portion.
In the magnetic head slider disclosed in JP-A-2001-84543, if external force is applied to the slider 200, the slider 200 moves forward and backward by about 10° from a floating posture.
In this case, the slider substrate 201 is formed of a ceramic material, such as Al2O3—TiC, and the insulating film 205 is formed of a material, such as alumina or SiO2, which has hardness lower than that of the ceramic material. For this reason, although not shown in FIG. 26, a surface of the insulating film 205 at the magnetic disk side (Z1 side in the drawing) is located closer to a side (Z2 side in the drawing) opposite to the magnetic disk side than a magnetic disk facing surface 201c of the slider substrate 201 by means of an etching process for forming an ABS surface of the slider 200. That is, a so-called recess is generated between the insulating film 205 and the slider substrate 201. In addition, the insulating film 205 has a thickness of 0.3 to 1 μm. For this reason, when the external force is applied to the slider 200 and the slider 200 moves from the floating posture, a portion of the slider 200 where a recess is formed, that is, an edge portion 201d of the slider substrate 201 at the X1 side in the drawing may contact with the magnetic disk, thereby severely damaging the magnetic disk. Specifically, in the magnetic head slider disclosed in JP-A-2001-84543, when the slider 200 contacts with the magnetic disk, it is not possible to prevent the magnetic disk from being damaged by using the insulating film 205.
In the magnetic head slider disclosed in JP-A-11-339416, the surface of the tapered portion is on the same plane as the tapered portion. In addition, the tapered portion is formed of a hard material, similar to the magnetic head slider substrate. For this reason, when the external force is applied to the magnetic head slider and the magnetic head slider moves, not only the convex portion but also the taper portion may contact with the magnetic disk, thereby severely damaging the magnetic disk.